They say that first impressions are always the most important. Apparently, the first impression that Steve Hashemi made on Richmond associate head coach Wayne Lineberg this past season was very impressive.

The Spiders had been recruiting Hashemi, a 6-foot-6, 260-pound offensive tackle from St. Joseph High School. When Lineberg was asked by new UConn head coach Bob Diaco to join his staff, one of the first things he did when he arrived in Storrs was to mention Hashemi to Diaco's new running backs coach, Ernest Jones, who was in charge of recruiting in Fairfield County.

So, Jones called Cadets head coach Joe Della Vecchia to see if Hashemi, a Hearst Connecticut Newspapers Super 33 selection, was the real deal.

"I got a call about a week ago Friday (Jan. 10) from the recruiting coordinator in the area, coach Jones," Della Vecchia said. "They had film on Steve from Richmond and he asked he if he was really that big, that sort of thing, and I said, `Yeah, he is' and they wanted to get a look at him. So I put Steve in touch with them and he called them and set up a official visit."

So this past Saturday, Hashemi, his parents and his brother drove to Storrs to check out the campus, tour the football facilities and take in the UConn-Louisville men's basketball game at Gampel Pavilion.

Before the game, Hashemi was having dinner in the dining hall when a graduate assistant came over and asked Steve and his family to follow him down the hall.

"The next thing you know," Hashemi is saying Tuesday in a phone conversation, "we're in coach Diaco's office."

Absolutely, Hashemi said, and he gave his oral commitment to attend UConn. He cannot sign his binding National Letter of Intent until Feb. 5. Diaco cannot comment about recruits until signing day.

"It was such a quick process," Hashemi said. "I want to say at the most it was two weeks. Everything was happening so fast, I'm still taking it all in."

It seems as if one of Diaco's top priorities is to not let state kids slip through UConn's fingers. After Lineberg told Jones about Hashemi, it didn't take long to reel him in.

"When coach Jones called me, he said, `He's a Connecticut kid and if he can play, we're going to get him.' That was exciting," Della Vecchia said. "They're thrilled about him and Steve is very excited to go there.

"I think every kid growing up in Connecticut who plays high school football here wants to go to UConn and play. There's Alabama and all that and there are dreams, but if you're from Connecticut, you want to play for your home university. That's a big deal to kids."

And it's a very big deal to Hashemi.

"You can talk to anyone in the state, public school, private school, and they would say that their dream at one point was to go to UConn," he said. "And for me, I have to admit, I'm a little bit of a momma's boy and to be just an hour away, that's awesome. So anytime I want to see my brothers or my parents, I'm close."

And there's the opportunity to be a part of the rebirth of UConn football under Diaco.

"I hadn't met him, I hadn't even seen him until we went up there to visit, and the first thing he did was shake my hand and tell me how excited they were about me," Hashemi said. "He was talking about all the things he wants to do with the program and some of them were absolutely unbelievable and I got really excited about it."

One of the things Diaco mentioned was a new testing regimen to determine what vitamins or iron a player might be lacking and giving them the correct balance to keep them properly energized all day.

"My jaw dropped when I heard that," said Hashemi, who also plays basketball for the Cadets. "That's going to be great."

Hashemi started playing football at St. Joseph as a sophomore in 2011, some 30 pounds lighter than he is now, basically being thrown to the wolves as a starter after nearly all of the Cadets' offensive line graduated after the 2010 season.

"Before high school, Steve had never played football," Della Vecchia said. "He got thrown into it, but that first year of experience helped him realize what it was going to take to play varsity football. He loves to compete no matter what the sport is. He wants to be good at everything. He's got to win."

And that competition will start in earnest this summer when Hashemi arrives for some initial classes and the beginning of fall practice.

"I'm 260 now, but I'm hoping to get around 295, 300," he said. "If I want to play at this level, that's where I'm going to have to be. I think I can handle it. I'm pretty athletic enough, I think I can add that and stay as athletic as I am now."